Spectral decomposition for seismic interpretation
US5870691A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 6, 1996 |
| Grant date | Feb 9, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 6, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01V2210/48
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The present invention is directed generally toward a method of processing seismic data so as to provide improved quantification and visualization of subtle seismic thin bed tuning effects and other sorts of lateral rock discontinuities. A reflection from a thin bed has a characteristic expression in the frequency domain that is indicative of the thickness of the bed: the reflection has a periodic sequence of notches in its amplitude spectrum, said notches being spaced a distance apart that is inversely proportional to the temporal thickness of the thin bed. Further, this characteristic expression may be used to track thin bed reflections through a 3-D volume and estimate their thicknesses and lateral extent. The usefulness of this invention is enhanced by a novel method of frequency domain whitening that emphasizes the geologic information present within the spectrum. Although the present invention is preferentially applied to a 3-D seismic volume, it is alternatively applied to any collection of spatially related seismic traces.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.